Monday, June 1, 2009

Panic at the Disco

Monday, June 1, 2009

Ashley R. is the one who makes all the "cool" cakes for her friends' birthdays, so when it came time for her own birthday her friend Kat decided to order her a "super spectacular" professional cake. Kat gave the baker this photo of Ashley's favorite band, Panic at the Disco:

...and she asked that the cake look like lead singer Brendon Urie (2nd from left).

Now, this can't be the best photo of Urie out there - I mean, he's gnawing on a bunch of flowers - so you have to pity the baker a little.

Well, until you see this, that is:


Now you're just pitying Ashley, right?

If you're like me, you're not going to be able to tear your eyes away from this thing for a while. That's Ok, though; I'll wait.

[whistling]


Poor Kat had the cake delivered right to Ashley's door, so she didn't see it herself until after she arrived at the party to find everyone backed wide-eyed against the walls in a defensive line. Then, when they tried to cut the thing, they found it was covered with rock-hard rice krispy treats and tasted bad to boot. Still, all was not lost: Upon discovering that the mouth and nostrils were hollow, the party-goers amused themselves by sticking stuff in them.

Ah, Ashley, it's nice to hear your friends are my kind of friends. I'd have some red licorice strips up those nostrils faster than you can say "deranged man found beaten to death by his own hand".

April said...

*falls over laughing* That's just hilarious!

Rule #1: Inspect the cake before sending it friend.

Rule #2: Find WAY better picture of singer for cake!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, gotta empathize with the baker here. How the *ell can you make a cake that looks like a man eating flowers? It's not so bad, really, considering what he/she was trying to match!

Anonymous said...

Frankly, I think that it was the assignment that was the wreck rather than the execution. The "friend" should not have come up with the idea of making a cake in the image of this singer any more than that Texas bride should have had the cake made in her own image.

Bri said...

Ok...wow.

Well, it isn't absolutely hideous. Right...?

It looks nothing like the request and it's inedible. That's pretty horrible, if you ask me.

It's pretty apt for a foot in mouth reference though!


WV: nonitypt -- the typing style of the anonymous.

Brianna M.

Anonymous said...

Hasn't the baker heard of Google Images?

Fluffy Cow said...

Wow. Just... wow.

WF- wabiandi
How this photo was chosen as a reference is wabiandi me.

Melinda said...

That hair looks entirely too realistic for my taste. I'm gagging just thinking about it. YUCk! I hope that it was some other texture not easily conveyed by the photo.

Miss Mouthy said...

The cake TOTALLY looks like Sloth from Goonies with some new hair implants. Too funny. Thanks for brightening my day!

Anonymous said...

It looks like he's been stabbed in the heart by those candles. That's why he's got that expression on his face!

Diana said...

I've been informed that I am no longer allowed to read the blog out loud to my partner while he's drinking coffee - apparently shooting hot coffee out your nose is a painful experience (it was the bit about the hollow nostrils that did it to him - ironically enough)

The Courteous Chihuahua said...

This post should be titled, "Panic at the Birthday Party"...yuk, yuk, yuk.

Queen Julian XIII said...

BWAHAHAHHAHA!!! Are you sure they didn't plan this to be a wreck the entire time??? That poor baker was just part of the "friends'" nefarious scheme!

Anonymous said...

I haven't heard of Panic at the Disco, but I have heard the song by The Wombats called Backfire at the Disco. I think that's what you could call this cake.

Kelsey said...

I have to agree with the two anonymouses up there; This one isn't really the baker's fault. There's only so much one can do with material like that. Granted, it's not good that it was rock hard and yucky tasting, but the picture of Urie wasn't attractive to begin with, so there's no logic in expecting an attractive cake to emerge.

Sounds like they made the best of it, though!

Anonymous said...

I have to say I pity the baker on this one- did the friend intend the baker to just do a more ordinary portrait, using the flower shot as a basis? If so, totally unfair. If the intent was to exactly recreate the flower image, then I have to say it is a fair job. Not good, just fair. And neither excuses a gross and inedible cake.

There is an application for those photo cakes, apparently!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I also sympathize with the baker (for the decorating, not the bad tasting cake). I think the requester blew it.

Mandy said...

I may be flamed for saying this, but it's actually not that bad! The hand is going the wrong direction, and yeah, it's a little creepy, but all things considered, the cake is kinda cool!

Dea said...

I agree - the baker didn't have much to go on - but then, that is one SCARY looking cake...and the fact that it was inedible? Cruel...

Anonymous said...

Eww. Disturbing. And just...icky. What's wrong with a sheet cake with a picture on it??? Of course, that probably would not have made Cake Wrecks.

Leah McNally said...

Those candles look like tranquilizer darts used to subdue the raging monster.

Unknown said...

I work for a psychologist and I almost busted out over this cake in front of a patient! Not a good thing! ;o) I do have to feel sorry for the baker though, that's a tough one! No WAY could you work with a picture like that...

DK
http://uberfoodnoob.blogspot.com/

Alison said...

I'd have more sympathy for the baker if the hand being gnawed on wasn't backwards and the thing had actually been edible

A Slice of Concentrated Love said...

I'm with the majority. That cake looks like what the customer asked for. And comparing the cake to the pic, if the decorator was given a better pic the cake would have looked great.

Unknown said...

I think the baker did a good job. It doesn't excuse not being able to eat the cake that is wrong. The friend should not give a photo that was horrible to said baker. If you show a baker this is what I want then usually that is what you get. Most bakers don't have a lot of free time to do research to make a person's cake so when the person ordering said cake gives a bad photo you blame them not the baker. But shame on the baker for a cake no one can eat!

Anonymous said...

Too funny! I blame BOTH for this train-wreck of a cake! I think this is destined to be one of the "classics" on this website!


Yvonne

Samantha Suzuki Photography said...

LMBO! I love this one! Really horrifically funny! And you're right...looks more like Sloth than anyone else!

Belle Epoque said...

Macho! Macho!...Cake...I wanna have some macho cake...

Stacie said...

I am not completely disgusted here. I was actually expecting a super huge sheet cake with a teeny tiny little picture of Mr. Urie. But you were right, Jen, I wasn't able to scroll down for at least 15 minutes. Maybe it was closer to 2 minutes. I exaggerate.

Emily said...

It does kind of look a lot like the picture, though. I think the baker did a great job with the picture given.

ROYALTY said...

I totally blame BOTH the requestor and the baker for this wreck, even though the friend wanted to have an awesome cake made, they should have thought better than to have a cake made in the image of an actual PERSON! and then that photo! Come on now.... also the baker should have talked her out of it. I have had a few people request some pretty far out stuff because they dont know any better... my goodness what are they thinking!

Meow!
http://www.kity-cakes.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Why in the world would the baker do a cake w/rice crispy treats??
I do empathise with the baker, however. There had to have been a better pic out there somewhere.
~Amy B.

Cake Believe said...

I'm guessing this wasn't a cheap cake, I agree with bad photo choice to give as reference...but inedible cake is a deal breaker! Even if it looked good....doesn't work if you can't EAT it!

Anonymous said...

I'd be able to let the wreckage go if it wasn't also inedible.

Half Assed Kitchen said...

The rice krispie treats though??? There's no excuse.

Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com)

Anonymous said...

Oh, poor Ashley! No matter how we assign the blame, the key thing is she's the real victim here: a creepy cake that was inedible (seriously, what part of "cake" translates to "rock hard rice krispy treats"?) by a medium she herself manipulates so well. And on her birthday. Thank goodness for the wreckerator's attention to details so she could at least enjoy stuffing things up its nose.

Word verification: bemash, what happens when you combine bemusement at a horrifying cake with a strong desire to smash said horrifying cake

sdreader said...

I'm with the others who sided with the baker. Giving that photo to the baker as what to go by was the work of someone intentionally cruel or insanely stupid.

morning glory said...

as someone who has a shameless fanboy crush on the man pictured, all i can say is OUCH.

Anonymous said...

I almost have to believe she was expecting a sheet cake with an edible picture over a 3-D rice krispie sculpture. Glad they were able to have fun with it, though. :)

WV: foryla - foryle love of all that's holy, that's an ugly cake!

Anonymous said...

I want to know what that hair is made of.

Suzy said...

OMG. HILARIOUS!! If my friend got that for me, I think I would DIE of laughing.
She could've used this picture of P!ATD: http://twitpic.com/6ekgx

Anonymous said...

I want "after" pics....with stuff sticking out of the nose and mouth!!!!!!!!!!! michelle

peewee said...

It's the cyclops eye that freaks me out. Watching me no matter if I walk to the right or the left....always watching......

Haiku Joy said...

Urie devours hand;
we clog his krispie nostrils.
Everybody wins!

Anonymous said...

Replace the singer with a zombie and replace the flowers with blood and this would be cool.

Anonymous said...

The cake itself was not that horibble looking (though it reminds one of Igor...)

The rice crispy treats are a crime against the art of pastry making though and the baker should probably be flogged for that.

Anonymous said...

Did shooting the Cake Man with full of candles make him die? Is this in any way similar to trying to kill a zombie? Because I gotta say, that flesh tone looks totally undead to me.

Morgan the Muse said...

That is one scary cake, man. Wow. I thought she was just going to have it printed on the top, myself. But, it happens, I suppose

Anonymous said...

Goin with the baker here... Did pretty well considering what he/she had to work with... an ugly pic of a not fabulously handsome guy.

WV:grani- His grani probably loved the cake, but nobody else did.

Stressfactor said...

For those questioning the presence of Rice Krispy treats on the cake... If any have ever watched "Ace of Cakes" you will know that for some sculpted cakes if there are parts not easily sculpted from cake the designers will use Rice Krispy treats covered in fondant to make those portions.

However, the RKT's should NEVER be stale and "rock hard". Yick! Also, with this cake I just don't see that those parts couldn't have been sculpted out of cake. It looks like someone perhaps watched Duff and Co. and tried to emulate the technique without the talent.

Anonymous said...

The cake actually turned out quite well given the bizarre photo... seriously, what was the girl thinking? Totally the fault of the girl ordering the cake.

As for rice krispies... it would be pretty difficult to carve a nose out of cake and plenty of bakers use rice krispies for those kinds of details... I'm sure you've all seen food network cake challenges.

Ugly cake, but pretty fair considering the picture given.

Anonymous said...

Oh that poor girl. . .

Heather said...

This cake is all kinds of awesome.

JennyKitten76 said...

wow, it looks like some grown up version of Chuckie *shudder*

Kat said...

I have to go with a lot of commenters... Not that bad! A terrible idea, a terrible band, sure, but I think executed as best as possible. How rock hard rice krispie treats made the cake easier to make is beyond me though. Wouldn't they just make for an uneven texture? I want to see what the cake looked like cut up.

TJ said...

Just did a spit-take all over my monitor. Thanks Jen for always making my day!

kingmonkey said...

The likeness is uncanny.

Trevor said...

Hey Jen,

YOu should like to your interview on the WE tv site. It is there under the Amazing Wedding Cakes info.

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting that only one other person mentioned that gosh awful eyeball! That's just scary.

Calafia said...

I agree that, while scary, it's a damn good cartoon likeness!
The thing that gets me is, hello? Inedible???
Geez- you just know she paid a bundle for that thing, and for ANY baker to sacrifice "cake" for "looks" is just....wrong!

Melissa (& Billy) said...

That's...that's, uh...

That's...memorable!

Phelpsgurl said...

Is it just me or does it look like John Belushi???? LOL!!! Thanks for the laugh...I needed it... :-)

Marie said...

LOL! It looks just like Sloth!!

Lindsay B. said...

Yeah I'm on team baker here too, that was a REALLY bad photo choice on the part of the friend... Like come on! The baker did a good job capturing the demented eating flowers face... Using rice crispies however, was an epic fail.

~ L. K. said...

While, yes, that's not the easiest photo, I'm fairly certain they could have at least gotten the hand's positioning correctly. Perhaps anatomy classes?

The positioning (again) for the candles is still a little awkward. Either you stick them in his head, nose, hand... There's no good place for the candles!

While shotty anatomy may be an OK excuse, bad cake is not. After all, that's the whole point, even IF the cake looks horrible, taste is ever more important. If you fail at one, you better get the second great!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I don't think I'd eat that if you PAID me!

Anna Marie

bpddjeoomon said...

The cake - hilarious, but I'm here to thank you for the Goonies reference. Because that's exactly where my mind went when I first saw it.

<3

Liz said...

I choked on my coffee on this one!

Sweet baby Jesus what are these bakers thinking?????????????

Unknown said...

I seriously can't stop laughing! Sure, the decorator didn't have much to go on and the choice of picture may very well have the fault here, but it still looks hilarious beyond belief!

I'm laughing myself silly and I really needed that today!

lindalou said...

I think he's trying to do that trick where you say..."I bet ya I can put my whole fist in my mouth".

(After a few beers of course.)

Alyson said...

I think that—given the horrid choice of photo—the cake is near perfect. It looks like the guy in the photo does. If she wanted a better cake, she should have chosen a better picture!

Highland Court said...

I thought that was really funny! That totally just made my day!

Anonymous said...

I pity the baker, Kat and Ashley.

Rachel said...

I'm with the baker. The baker did her/his best with what s/he was given.

Tatersmama said...

Does that thing have a TOUPEE on? That hair is just a tad too realistic for me. *URP*

But... I don't blame the baker at all, since it couldn't have been an easy request in the first place.
It's pretty good, considering...right?
.
And hey... what's not to like about a cake with it's own built-in ashtray?

plastiqueponi said...

Not to mention all the copyright/trademark laws being broken by using a celebrity image... If you're not making money off of it, then they tend to be more lenient, but this decorator charged money for this, she could be in line for a hefty fine.

Dea said...

I'm confused by the "backwards had" comments - in the picture, it's the guy's left hand. On the cake, it's his left hand...seeing as there's no thumb on the left side of the cake...

Slightly out of proportion? Sure. But not backwards...

Maaike said...

I'm sorry, but based on THAT picture? I think the baker did a pretty good job.

Canaduck said...

I'm with everybody who says, uh, what the hell is with that picture? I mean, the cake isn't great, but the PICTURE?? Why in the hell would you choose that one?

Anonymous said...

It could have been worse, but it came out pretty goofy and didn't exactly capture the appearance of the picture. Someone who was really skilled at this could have done a far better job, not to mention made a cake that was more appetizing.

Anonymous said...

um, yeah...i gotta stick up for the baker on this one. first, i never would have taken that job, because i KNOW mine would never turn out half as good as the bakers. but for all of you who are trashing the baker, i'd LOVE to see you take on the same challenge and see how well yours turns out. it doesn't look EXACTLY like the picture, but i think they did a great job pulling off something that detailed. ANYBODY want to take the challenge? i'm sure there are those of you out there who may do a better job, but if you know you can't, please don't be the ones to trash the baker.

Anonymous said...

i need to add to my post below...about the cake challenge...i DO want to say it is a shame it was all rice krispy treat. that really is too bad.

FelixAndAva said...

Team "sympathy only for the victim, namely the birthday girl" here.

Lousy picture (fail by orderer) + inedible excuse for cake (MAJOR fail by wreckerator) = ruined birthday party + major disappointment for birthday girl.

Wonder if she's ever going to bother making nice cakes for the offending friend again.

I do hope the orderer at least got a refund for the thing being inedible (ugly cakes can still be eaten if they're actually, you know, food quality).

sendingtheclowns said...

Frankly, I think they did a great job on the hair... in a Jim Bakker kind of way... which is neither here nor there because probably no one remembers old Jimbo but me. He was always good for a laugh, and we didn't have Cake Wrecks in those days.
They do have those eyebrows DOWN, man. Just think about what they had to WORK with-- who can complain if a guy who looks like he's trying to EAT a plant comes out (in cake) looking rather like a guy who's being eaten BY a plant? Very subtle differences there.
I'm considering what the likelihood would be of an average eye consuming a THIRD of a person's facewidth. I'm no anatomy expert. Dang, though-looking at this cake makes me think of a dollar bill, in some odd way...

Bilby P. Dalgyte said...

Hahaha! It's going to eat us all! (Since when did this become Soviet Russia?)

twinkle teaches said...

There is no way I would eat that cake! :)
tina

Unknown said...

There obviously was a lack of communication here. Kat should have been more specific about what she wanted and the decorator should have explained to the girl what she was going to get.
Both of them wrecked this.

Anonymous said...

I so get the reference to Goonies!!!! I am always saying this around my friends and no one gets it!!! Hilarious!!!!!

Twiggles and Trunks said...

omg. i love your great references to awesome (& totally under-rated) 80s CLASSIC movies... oh Goonies.

Pilgrim said...

It looks like he is making himself throw up. Great, a bulimic cake ;)

Hyena Overlord said...

He looks like he's trying to throw himself up. Sad.

Oh cool show...Cake Boss. Screaming and cake, beautiful.

wv...ingbundz. is Swedish Chef for the cake is in the bundt pan.

Unknown said...

It DOES kinda look like Tom Jones though...

Elizabeth said...

I disagree with those who say the "friend" is to blame. This is all on the baker. If they couldn't handle the job, they should've been honest and asked for a different picture or something. They should not have sent that thing. The singer appears to be gnawing off his own hand! Not to mention the face shape is all wrong. Nice wreck and commentary as always, Jen!

Shannon said...

I have a friend who is friends with Brendan Urie. She'll get a kick out of this. So will he when she forwards it to him.

Anonymous said...

Oh god, no! I love Panic! At the Disco and that cake is just... horrifying! Poor Kat, poor Ashley, and poor Brendan!

Jules said...

I was really laughing out loud when i saw this cake..=D Thanks for sharing it.You made my day.Hope to see more from you friend.=)

A Writers Den
The Brown Mestizo

Rosie said...

yes i agree.... not the best photo of Brendon Urie in the entire world. But props to the baker...... at least the band logo looks decent!! perhaps the whole cake should just be the logo... much easier for the baker, and WAY less room for disaster.... should be looked into in future

jackie31337 said...

Am I the only one here old enough to remember that the "hey you guys!" line is originally from the opening sequence of The Electric Company?

Anne said...

Oh dear!! This is just a fail on all sides. I agree with previous commenters that the cake isn't THAT terrible, considering the reference photo, but it's still quite creepy in its own right. I love Brendon and his band and I must say that he's a good-looking dude - a much better photo could have been chosen! Like this, perhaps: http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/Starsouls1013/0Random/panicbdenspinhires2.jpg

Ah well. Nice thought, terrible execution! I must admit I'm very amused to see Panic on this blog though :D

Anonymous said...

i empathize with the baker as well. it was a horrible idea and stupid picture. the friend is the only one who should be blamed for her poor design decisions. after all, who wants to eat a cake of someone's head anyhow? heaven knows you've made fun of that enough on this blog. i'm kind of disappointed in you for going after the baker on this one.

Anonymous said...

Well that's what she gets for liking Panic at the Disco. Eeesh. I pity the baker here.

I mean, really. Shiz looks like Brian Bell got caught in a funhouse mirror.

Miranda said...

Panic at the birthday party!

I think I would just get some sugar paper and a kopykake thing to make a picture of the guy to put on the cake.

so yeah I can see how trying to make a sculpture of a person would suck. What I don't get is why the cake actually tasted bad. This should not happen!

Marie in Ontario said...

wv: cryon

I'm cryon with laughter over here.

Cami said...

hey, that's one of my favorite pictures of brendon, so I don't know what you guys are talking about. pssh unattractive? brendon could never be unattractive.

well, unless he's in sloth-style cake form, that is. I mean, it's just a picture, if the baker can do a picture that's just someone standing there, then they should be able to do a dude biting a flower.

seems this baker couldn't do either.

Anonymous said...

The cake decorator made it look like the picture. What do you expect from them? They probably had no idea who Panic at the Disco is and they used the terrible picture they were given. It's not their job to google image a picture to use when they already have one.

Velasa said...

What did they expect the baker to do with such a bizarre picture? O_o In this case I'm calling foul. They were setting themselves uop for trouble in this case and the baker was caught in the middle of it.

Michelle said...

Goonies! I love that movie! I read "Hey you guys!" and fell over in my chair, laughing! Awesomeness!

Eric said...

In the context of a cake, it looks like the singer is choking or something... hehe

Giusi. said...

FLMAOOOOOOOOO!! OMG OMG OMG

I FRIGGEN ALMOST PEED MY PANTS!!
LMAOAAOAOOA

WHy didn't they use a DIFFERENT picture of HIM and why didn't they use that transfer paper cake thingie?? LMAO

omg that's GOLD!!!!!

conlmar said...

panic(!)at the disco
best.band.ever (:
there are soo many better pictures of brendon out there, so i feel sorry for the baker, but still
quite a wreck x)

Emily said...

OMG.

This is horrible looking.

But hilariously funny.

There are WAY better pictures of Brendon out there. Sure, he likes to make faces, but there ARE some semi-normal looking ones.

Anneke said...

it looks like someone who got hit by birthday candles shot at him, so now he's cringing in pain with the candles stuck in his shoulder.

margie said...

Maybe he just got his wisdom teeth pulled!

Ashey R, said...

Lolol. Oh the memories come rushing back. I will say that I do agree with a lot of you. The cake wasn't that bad per the reference shot. But it was terrifying. And according to Kat, she provided a lot of different reference shots as well. But alas, the worse part is we couldn't eat the thing. It was the wrong flavor and there wasnt much actual cake in it.

It will forever live as one of my best birthday memories though :)

awaitingtheophany said...

HI! I am actually the KAT in the story!

LOL! I am so glad that this got on here!!!!! LOLOL!

And for the record, I sent her LOTS of pictures and just told her that picture was my friend's fave picture. I even told her that it didn't have to be THAT exact picture if she couldn't make it work. I was expecting some cartoonish cute rendition... but.. not that. LOL

:-D

Deborah Lynne said...

Hollow nostrils?

and they didn't take any photos of the fun?.. :-(



ROFL =D

dguzman said...

The candles look like spears sticking out of his chest.

Dea said...

Oh - well, if the baker had more pictures, then it's on them....LMAO!

Lynn C said...

DUDE! This totally looks like Isaac from Children of the Corn. All angry and creepy, eating corn...just sayin'. http://www.thepunkguy.com/music/COC.png

Lynn

12 hour pills said...

Ehhh...besides the general inedibility of the cake, I'd say this one is on the person who gave them the picture. They might have been able to find other images, but I wonder if the person said they didn't want an exact likeness from that photo.

Unknown said...

That's pretty awful. Especialy because they're my favorite band too. Also, I just tweeted this at brendon (brendonuriesays) and hopefully he'll see it.

Jessica Martiele said...

Funny, but the Goonies reference was the clincher. Odd when the rest of the world and their sense of humor catches up to things from my own generation. Fab. Thanks.

Kirsten Alana said...

JUST the laugh I needed on this Monday afternoon. TOO funny!!!

Anonymous said...

Most of these cakes, even the Sunday Sweets, are going to taste bad. They have been covered in fondant and manhandled to death. Ace of Cakes, although I love the show, uses styrofoam to shape a good many of their "cakes." These may be pretty but they probably taste like sugary cardboard.

Anonymous said...

Does this cake remind anyone else of the fake heads Frank Lee Morris made so he and his buddies could escape from Alcatraz? That's all I can see when I look at it.

Go google it.

See what I mean?! Those heads were possibly more edible & less frightening. heh.

glammmit said...

OMG. OMG. OMG.

i have literally never seen aything funnier in my entire life. i've been to your website a few times before but tonight i've been on for hours. i don't know that i can look at any more tonight, though. your description combined with this cake leave me fearing that my stomach will literally rip apart from laughter if i look any more.

Sia said...

Okay, no, that isn't good. I understand the baker didn't have a lot to go on- it's a picture of Bden eating flowers, I mean, seriously, the girl definitely should have picked a better picture-but it DOES NOT look anything like him and what it does look like is rather frightening. And apparently it was gross-tasting and partially made of rice crispies, too, so how can you call this okay?
And I kind of adore P!ATD and Brendon himself, so this is just lulztastic. Poor Bden.

1nes said...

he looks like he's vomiting.... and the "flower stem" looks like.....

XP

Anonymous said...

This is quite disturbing....haha, i feel bad for the baker...this was some weird work of art!